Specialty crop grants will aid diverse Oregon producers
In Forest Grove, Ore., Pete Mulligan is betting the rising popularity of hard cider isn’t a foodie fad. He’s growing 100 varieties of apples, including old English and French cider varieties, to keep his own business juiced and to provide nursery trees for other cider makers.
Mulligan, founder of Bull Run Cider, said the industry needs to be taken seriously by others in Oregon agriculture.
So far, the reception has been cautious. When making a pitch to experienced orchardists to grow cider varieties, “Right away they want to know how much money am I going to make,” Mulligan said.
That’s understandable. “We know partnerships are not developed overnight,” he said. But Mulligan and others believe the cider infrastructure needs to grow quickly to take advantage of the market. Many cider makers buy juice or use conventional dessert apples due to a scarcity of the tart or bittersweet cider varieties, he said.
He said a $54,000 specialty crop grant from USDA may help the industry develop the foundation it needs. The grant, part of $2 million in funding administered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, is one of 24 projects statewide intended to assist growers and processors of fruit, vegetables, nuts, nursery plants and other specialty crops.
In the case of the cider grant, the money will go to the Northwest Cider Association to connect cider manufacturers with orchardists and nurseries to ensure a steady supply of cider apples and “perry” pears. Perry is an alcoholic drink made from pears.
Sherrye Wyatt, executive director of the cider association, said the grant comes at a crucial time for the industry as cider makers plan expansion and need an assured supply of fruit.
“It’s critical that we’re not spinning our wheels, because the clock is turning,” she said. “People are having to plan out ahead.”
Wyatt said the cider industry benefits from the same atmosphere — starting with high-quality agricultural products — that led to the rapid expansion of craft beer manufacturing in the Pacific Northwest.
“The cradle of that is Portland,” she said. “Combine that with fruit, an innovative spirit and local, slow food.”
The cider association’s membership has grown from 17 to 70 in just the past couple years, Wyatt said.
Some of the other specialty crop projects to receive funding include:
• $66,800 to the Oregon Hops Commission, which will coordinate and update a study of how much seasonal farm labor specialty crop producers need.
• $61,239 to the Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission for a campaign to get elders to eat more berries. Nutrition experts tout berries as healthy food that can help the body stave off various ailments.
• $79,186 to the Oregon Strawberry Commission for growth trials and taste tests of up to 10 new fresh market strawberry varieties. They will be grown at Unger Farms outside Portland, which is experienced in using the plasticulture production system,
• $100,000 to Oregon State University Extension to expand OSU’s Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship program. The grant will be used to improve the production and marketing skills of new and beginning specialty crop farmers and will include a series of four classes offered at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus.